New Ambulance Tops Emmaus Wish List

Emmaus Borough Council Monday sent its annual wish list to the Emmaus General Authority to buy a new ambulance, compost screener and new computer equipment for the police department. But the authority is not expected to provide funds for all three items, according to council.

Council also approved its second reading of the new ordinance that will increase fines for residents who delay in removing snow and ice from their sidewalks. Council members Michael Waddell and Brent Labenberg voted against the ordinance because they said the fines were too high.

Council intends to approve the ordinance with a third and final reading at a future meeting.

A new ambulance costing $80,700 is council’s top priority on the wish list to the general authority. But several council members disagreed on whether a police computer system costing $47,000 or a $20,000 compost screener should be the second priority.  Council members suggested the screener has a better chance of being approved because it is less costly. Councilman Brian Holtzhafer said there was “no chance” the authority would fund both an ambulance and the police computer system.

Councilman Nathan Brown argued that the police computer equipment was more important than a compost screener. But Borough Manager Craig Neely said the borough wants to keep its popular composting operation going and will need its own screener if the current attempt to set up a regional composting facility fails.

Council decided to make the compost screener the second priority and the police computer system the third.

In other business, borough resident James Woodeshick said a borough employee at the compost yard recently refused to load mulch onto trucks for a borough Boy Scout troop that was mulching their sponsoring church’s property. Woodeshick said the scouts had to load the mulch themselves. “I had a problem with the loader not being used,’’ he told council.

Labenberg said he knew about the incident. “ Quite frankly I was a little upset…it doesn’t make sense.” He said the borough lost revenue it could have gotten had it loaded the mulch. Neely said the borough’s policy is not to load large amounts of mulch when there is only a little bit left so that more people can share the remaining mulch. Council said it would discuss the matter with staff.

In other action, council hired several local youths as summer public works employees and lifeguards and cashiers at the Community Park swimming pool.

Council also refused to act on a second request from the Lehigh County Conservation District to waive the rental fee to use the Arts Pavilion at . Rebecca Kennedy said the district is hosting a tour of the best sustainable landscape projects in the county and the tour will start at Community Park where the riparian buffer will be showcased to a statewide audience. Kennedy said the borough would be listed as an event sponsor if it waived the pavilion fees.

But Labenberg said council has already refused to waive the pavilion fee for a local Girl Scout event and it would not be fair to waive the fee for the district.